By now the older man and woman, as well as the younger man, had come to see what the ruckus was. The older woman looked quite put out. “Susanna, conduct yourself.”
“I am, Mother. I am but doing a poor job of it.”
“Nonsense,” an older woman from the church declared. “This is the best time any of us have had in ages. It does a soul so much good to laugh.”
“Being laughed at is hardly the impression a widow needs to be making,” the stranger said, shaking her head.
“We’re not laughing at her, ma’am,” Owen said, realizing that he still held fast to Mrs. Jenkins’s arm.
“Of course they aren’t,” Mrs. Jenkins declared. She looked at Owen. “Thank you for the rescue. I’m Susanna Jenkins.”
“Owen Turner.”
The pastor joined them. “I see you’ve met the Widow Jenkins, Owen. Leave it to you to get wrapped up with one of the purdiest gals to grace our spread.”
The comments about Mrs. Jenkins’s widowhood were not lost on Owen. He looked at her, unable to keep the surprise from his expression as he let go of her arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Mrs. Jenkins nodded. “Thank you.” She sobered and began to dust off her dress.
People began talking of other things, and Owen felt he’d somehow overstepped his bounds.
“These are my parents, Mr. Turner,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “Mr. and Mrs. Ragsdale. And my brother, Gary.”
Her introduction furthered his embarrassment. “Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Owen Turner. I work for the Santa Fe, as most of us do.”
“I’d like to talk to you about it,” Gary said. “I don’t know anybody here or anything about the railroad, but I’m thinking about getting a job with them.”
“Well, maybe you’d all like to be my guests for lunch.” Owen wanted to kick himself. Why had he just done that? “At the Harvey House,” he hurried to add.
“We were headed there,” the older man declared. “It would be very neighborly of you to have us as your guests.”
Owen nodded. “Then it’s settled. Come on. I always have a table waiting for me on Sunday.”
3
Lunch with Owen passed quickly, and before she knew it, Susanna was walking by his side as they made their way back to the hotel. Mother and Father had left the restaurant early because Mother had declared the heat was making her ill, but both seemed to like Owen well enough, as they insisted he would be invited to dinner one evening soon.
Gary remained to discuss his sudden fascination with the Santa Fe Railway, making it perfectly acceptable for Owen and Susanna to be together without causing a stir. Still, Susanna couldn’t help but wonder what others might be thinking after their pandemonium in the churchyard that morning.
“It sounds like a real adventure working with the railroad. Do you think I could try my hand at it?” Gary asked Owen.
“I’m sure with all the different jobs available that you could find something you’d enjoy or at least be good at.”
“Could I work with you?”
Owen looked from the younger man to Susanna and back again. “Well, it’s entirely possible, but I can’t say for certain. I do have say in hiring for my department, however.”
“Then that’s what I want. I think it would help a lot to know the person I was working with. I mean, you seem like a nice enough fellow.”
“I’m a hard taskmaster,” Owen countered. “You should know that about me. I believe in hard work. I put in a full day’s work and then some. I expect those working with me to do the same.”
“That makes sense to me,” Gary replied. He sounded so naïve.
“Working in the shops is like nothing you’ve ever known,” Owen continued. “It’s usually one-hundred-twenty degrees, if not more, in there during the summer. It melts the fat right off your body and bakes your brain. It won’t be easy. You’ll have to get your mind around that fast, or you’ll never last. You really ought to think about it for a few days, Gary. You only just arrived, and frankly, running a hotel would be a whole lot easier.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t like the idea of working for my father,” Gary said. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to explore. This town seems pretty interesting to me.”
Susanna shook her head as Gary went whistling down the street. “You may regret that,” she murmured. “My brother is new to a life that includes working.”
